This week we discuss the talk about whether the rule of law is threatened in Sweden, as many lawyers are now arguing. 

We also ask why things got heated in the Riksdag this week.

Why are some museums saying they’re being forced out of Stockholm?

And we finish up with a tricky quiz on Swedish society.  

Host James Savage is joined this week by panelists Emma Löfgren and Mandy Pipher. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

• More than 1,800 lawyers warn rule of law being dismantled in Sweden

• Sweden Democrat MP accused of threatening behaviour in parliament

• QUIZ: Can you pass The Local's mock Swedish citizenship test?

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This week’s episode is sponsored by SULF, the Swedish Association of University Teachers and Researchers.

SULF was instrumental recently in securing residence permit exemptions for academics and is consistently working hard to be as accessible as possible for English speakers in Sweden.

So if you are a PhD student or university teacher in Sweden you’ll find SULF a great place to meet like-minded people who are fighting hard for academic freedom and the rights of researchers here. 

You can find out more on the English-language section of the SULF website. 

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Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+

• For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+
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Sweden is introducing a stricter new citizenship law from June 6th. But there will be no transitional provisions for the 100,000 people waiting in the citizenship queue.

That’s unless opposition politicians manage to force lawmakers to vote again on transitional rules after the previous vote was marred by cheating accusations at the end of last month, as The Local was first to report.

Last week our reporter Mandy Pipher caught up with Åsa Holmes, the head of the Swedish Migration Agency’s citizenship unit in Gothenburg to find out how the agency is planning to assess cases after the June changes come into force. And will applicants be able to get a refund now that Sweden has moved the goal posts?

READ ALSO:

• How will the Swedish Migration Agency handle citizenship cases after June 6th?

Sweden in Focus Extra is a podcast for The Local's Membership+ subscribers.

Sign up to Membership+ now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+

• For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+
• For new members: Get Membership+ 

 Read more about Membership+ in our help centre.

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This week we discuss the aftershock from last week’s parliamentary vote on stricter citizenship rules.

We’ve got an interview with Åsa Holmes from the Migration Agency on how the new rules will be applied — and what it means for people already in the system.

We also look at the new civics test for citizenship.

For Membership+ subscribers, we look at the TISUS exam — which now counts towards the language requirement for citizenship.

And finally we look a why – if you notice a Swedish person staring at you and then looking away – they’re not necessarily being rude.

Host Richard Orange is joined this week by panelists Becky Waterton and Mandy Pipher. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

• 'Total deadlock': No end in sight to Sweden's parliamentary pairing chaos
• No decision made about transitional rules at committee meeting
• How will the Swedish Migration Agency handle citizenship cases after June 6th?
• Sweden's first citizenship test to be held on August 15th
• How likely is a revote on transitional rules for Swedish citizenship?

• Why that Swede glaring at you on the street might be trying to be polite

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Our sponsor this week is Sveriges Ingenjörer (Engineers of Sweden) 

Sign up here for their live Q&A sessions on working in Sweden

• May 12th session
• June 16th session

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Sign up now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+

• For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+
• For new members: Get Membership+ 

Read more about Membership+ in our help centre.

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Public opinion in Sweden is increasingly at odds with the government's restrictive immigration policies, a new survey has found.

The study, commissioned by non-profit organisation Globeknot and carried out by Novus, found that 81 per cent of respondents thought that foreigners who follow the law and support themselves should be allowed to stay in Sweden.

The Local's Richard Orange caught up with Globeknot's Andreas Bergh, who is also Associate Professor of Economics at Lund University, to find out more about the survey.

READ ALSO:

• Sweden's migration crackdown 'goes beyond what most voters want'

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Our sponsor this week is Sveriges Ingenjörer (Engineers of Sweden) 

Sign up here for their live Q&A sessions on working in Sweden

• May 12th session
• June 16th session

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Sweden in Focus Extra is a podcast for The Local's Membership+ subscribers.

Sign up to Membership+ now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+

• For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+
• For new members: Get Membership+ 

Become a member at https://www.thelocal.se/podcasts/podcast-offer?tpcc=padlock.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sign up now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+

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• For new members: Get Membership+ 

This week we spend most of the episode looking at Wednesday’s controversial vote in parliament to pass stricter citizenship laws.

We also talk about King Carl Gustaf’s 80th birthday celebrations, Sweden’s bonfire night and May Day celebrations.

Host James Savage is joined this week by panelists Emma Löfgren and Richard Orange. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

• As it happened: Swedish MPs vote through citizenship reforms without transitional rules
• Sweden's parliament rejects transitional rules for citizenship bill
• Sweden Democrats accused of cheating to block transitional rules for citizenship
• Swedish opposition demand revote on transitional citizenship rules
• 'I feel scammed': Foreigners in Sweden react to controversial citizenship vote

• Walpurgis Night: Why are Swedes dancing around bonfires?
• Where are the best places to celebrate Valborg in Sweden in 2026?
• Why is May 1st a public holiday in Sweden?

Become a member at https://www.thelocal.se/podcasts/podcast-offer?tpcc=padlock.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sweden in Focus Extra is a podcast for The Local's Membership+ subscribers.

Sign up to Membership+ now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+

• For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+
• For new members: Get Membership+ 

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Sweden is heading to an election in less than five months and the left of centre parties are leading consistently in the polls.

But the question everyone's asking i:, could this disparate group of parties form a government?

Will the Centre Party or the Left Party drop some of their red lines to make this happen? And what could the alternatives be? 

Richard Orange caught up with Nicholas Aylott, Associate Professor of Political Science at Södertörn University in the south of Stockholm, to ask him what might happen. 

READ ALSO:

• Will there still be a left-wing and right-wing bloc come September?

Become a member at https://www.thelocal.se/podcasts/podcast-offer?tpcc=padlock.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sign up now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+

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• For new members: Get Membership+ 

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This week we look at a new survey in which skilled workers say what they like most and least about Sweden.

We ask which parts of some of Sweden’s big cities are best for foreigners.

And we look at whether the next government could unite parties of the left and right.

And in exclusive material for Membership+ subscribers we look at whether your flights home could be disrupted this summer as fuel costs soar.

Host James Savage is joined this week by panelists Mandy Pipher and Richard Orange. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

• Work-life balance and family chief draw for high-skilled workers in Sweden

• 'Safe, clean and peaceful': The Malmö districts foreigners favour the most
• 'An international hub': These are the best districts for foreigners in Gothenburg
• 'Open-minded and cosmopolitan': The Stockholm districts foreigners like the most

• How would you like The Local to cover the Swedish election?

• Flight cancelled or delayed? Here are your rights in Sweden

Become a member at https://www.thelocal.se/podcasts/podcast-offer?tpcc=padlock.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sweden in Focus Extra is a podcast for The Local's Membership+ subscribers.

Sign up to Membership+ now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+

• For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+
• For new members: Get Membership+ 

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Many people might think that someone working on a PhD funded by the Swedish state at a Swedish university would get an easy ride from migration authorities.

That hasn’t been the case for Fahima Ayub Khan, a linguistics and cognitive science researcher studying for a PhD at the University of Gothenburg.

She was denied a permit renewal and issued a deportation order just as she entered the final stretch of her doctoral studies.

In this week’s episode of Sweden in Focus Extra, she tells The Local's Mandy Pipher about how her battle with Swedish bureaucracy has affected her life.

READ ALSO:

• 'We are not bonded labourers': University researcher fights Swedish deportation order

Become a member at https://www.thelocal.se/podcasts/podcast-offer?tpcc=padlock.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sign up now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+

• For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+
• For new members: Get Membership+ 

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This week we ask how new curbs on permanent residency will hit immigrants.

As the Wallenberg family rescues a groundbreaking green steel project in northern Sweden, we examine whether the Swedish green transition has reached a fork in the road.

We also have a look at what goodies the government is showering over the electorate in the last budget before the election.

And in exclusive material for Membership+ subscribers we discuss Swedes’ favourite word – and we ask if our panelists can come up with a better one.

Host James Savage is joined this week by panelists Mandy Pipher and Emma Löfgren. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

• EXPLAINED: Who is affected by Sweden's law phasing out permanent residency

• KEY POINTS: Sweden's spring budget bill in less than a minute

• Swedish steel startup Stegra to receive 1.4 billion euro investment

• Is lagom really the best word in the Swedish language?

Become a member at https://www.thelocal.se/podcasts/podcast-offer?tpcc=padlock.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sweden in Focus Extra is a podcast for The Local's Membership+ subscribers.

Sign up to Membership+ now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+

• For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+
• For new members: Get Membership+ 

Read more about Membership+ in our help centre.

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Applicants for work permits in Sweden will soon have to earn 90 percent of the median wage, or just over 33,000 kronor a month, to qualify.

But some key professions will be exempted from the requirement. No decision has yet been made on exactly which jobs will be exempted, but The Local recently obtained lists of the professions provided to the government by the Migration Agency for consideration.

The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, a lobby group representing Swedish businesses, has long sought to maintain Sweden's liberal work permit rules.

In this week’s episode, The Local's Richard Orange catches up with Amelie Berg, the organisation's expert on immigration and labour mobility issues, to get her take on the latest updates. 

READ ALSO:

• Swedish businesses call for work permit exemption list 'as soon as possible'

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